The south Caucasian country of Azerbaijan recently asked Washington lobbyists that it was considering working with to not register under FARA for work they considered necessary to register for, two people who they asked told Daniel.
— The country has worked with the Friedlander Group since February 2023, paying the firm $41,666 per month to “enhance US-Azerbaijan relations,” according to FARA records, which show numerous informational materials that the firm has sent to congressional staffers and other influencers and Capitol Hill roundtables that the firm has facilitated.
— But the two lobbyists said that the country was not happy with the firm’s progress on issues important to Azerbaijan. For instance, when a top Azerbaijani official visited Washington earlier this year, he felt slighted because his meetings with top Biden administration officials were canceled, according to one of the people.
— That discontent in part led Azerbaijan to talk with at least one other firm in the last year. But when Deputy Foreign Minister Elnur Mammadov told the firm that the contract was contingent on there being no FARA registration, the firm backed away and didn’t attend a meeting to discuss the potential contract at the embassy, according to the lobbyist.
— Another lobbyist who was going to work with the new firm said they were also asked to set up meetings that they believe would have violated FARA. The two spoke on condition of anonymity given the sensitive nature of the discussions.
— The overtures came at a delicate time for Azerbaijan. Last September, Azerbaijan launched a daylong “lightning” offensive in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, sparking the exodus of around 100,000 ethnic Armenians. Leaders from both sides have been working to broker a peace deal in the year since, but nothing has been finalized.
— Meanwhile in May, Texas Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar was charged with taking bribesfrom an oil and gas company owned by the government of Azerbaijan and seeking to use his post in Congress to benefit Azerbaijan’s government — accusations Cuellar denies. Baku, the country’s capital city, is also preparing to host the global climate summit COP next month, prompting a war of words over the Azerbaijan’s human-rights record.
— Asked for comment, Azerbaijani embassy spokesperson Jamila Mammadova said in a statement to PI: “We would like to underscore that our respective work is strictly within the U.S. legal framework. In regard to U.S.-Azerbaijan relations, Azerbaijan sees deep value in bilateral relations between the two countries and we continuously engage with U.S. counterparts to advance our relations.”
— Added Friedlander Group CEO Ezra Friedlander: “In all my interactions the government of Azerbaijan has adhered to the highest ethical standards regarding FARA and all other issues pertaining to my representation.”